Kanye West has reached a settlement with his Lloyd’s of London-based insurers ending a legal battle over his abandoned 2016 Saint Pablo Tour.

West prematurely ended that particular US tour following particularly erratic behaviour at a couple of his shows. He was subsequently admitted to the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center, with one news agency stating at the time that “the decision to hospitalise West was for his own health and safety”.

The shows were insured and West subsequently claimed on his insurance policy to recoup costs covered by the cancellations. The insurance pay out wasn’t forthcoming, so last year West sued accusing the insurers of employing delaying tactics and putting unnecessary hurdles in the way, all in a bid to avoid having to honour the insurance policies taken out for the tour.

The insurers then countersued, accusing West of not fully co-operating with their investigation into the circumstances around the ‘St Pablo’ cancellation. Legal reps for the insurers also alleged that there were “substantial irregularities in Mr West’s medical history”. West’s lawyers then called for the countersuit to be dismissed.

At the time, his legal reps stated: “The counterclaim is another manifestation of defendants’ efforts to complicate [our client’s] effort to collect on the subject policies, and to proliferate needless pleadings. The counterclaim serves no useful purpose, as it is simply a reworking of the matters raised in the [original] complaint and the defendants’ answer to it”. Therefore, “the counterclaim should be withdraw or stricken”.

Yesterday the judge overseeing the case dismissed the entire dispute, but at the request of lawyers working for both parties. Neither side has commented on this development, other than to state that the whole matter has now been resolved “amicably”.

This all means we won’t get some court-time consideration of the way insurance companies working in the entertainment business operate. Which is what West’s legal rep Howard King initially promised.

He told The Hollywood Reporter last year that the insurers had a “business model thrives on conducting unending ‘investigations’ of bona fide coverage requests, stalling interminably, running up their insured’s costs, and avoiding coverage decisions based on flimsy excuses. The artists think they they’re buying peace of mind. The insurers know they’re just selling a ticket to the courthouse”.

Courtney Barnett has announced that she will release a new album, ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’, on 18 May. The first single, ‘Nameless, Faceless’, is out now.

Barnett released her debut album, ‘Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit’, in 2015. Last year, she put out a collaborative album with Kurt Vile, ‘Lotta Sea Lice’. Both top 20 records in the UK, they brought critical acclaim and a great deal of attention – the latter of which, in part, feeds into the new single.

“I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and spit out better words than you”, she sings on ‘Nameless, Faceless’, recalling one online comment she’s received. This then ties into real world fears, on a chorus borrowing a quote from Margaret Atwood: “I want to walk through the park in the dark / Men are scared that women will laugh at them / I want to walk through the park in the dark / Women are scared that men will kill them / I hold my keys between my fingers”.

Dance-music focused indie Aus Music has announced a new compilation series, ‘Inside Out’, with the first edition helmed by label boss Will Saul.

The aim of the series is to blur the line between dance music albums and compilations, using entirely unreleased music. Producers and DJs invited to put together a mix will be given complete creative control, and encouraged to commission new music as they wish.

“I wanted to try to recreate the feeling I used to get in the 90s when you went clubbing and heard your favourite DJ play but had never heard the vast majority of the tracks he/she was playing”, say Saul. “Your mind would be constantly blown by hearing totally new music for the first time. We’ve pretty much lost this with the proliferation of online mixes, Shazam, early EP premieres and free streams”.

OK, the Spice Girls tour is on. I hope you’re keeping up with this. Yeah, I know Victoria Beckham said there would be no tour, but that was before she signed a contract to go on one.

It was just last week when Beckham told Vogue: “I’m not going on tour. The girls aren’t going on tour”. But now TMZ reckons that it’s all a done deal, with dates planned in the UK and US.

There have been rumours of a tour ever since the group confirmed that they were “considering opportunities” for things they could do together again. And now there’s this unconfirmed report. So it’s looks like it’s all definitely on. You can’t argue with rumours.

• Downtown has opened new offices in Paris and Sydney, adding to locations in New York, Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Tokyo. “Paris and Sydney have extraordinary Japanese restaurants, amongst many other exceptional options”, says CEO Justin Kalifowitz in a blog post. “This fact is relevant because we love to eat, but it’s also illustrative of the borderless world in which we live today”.

• Run The Jewels have been announced as this year’s Record Store Day ambassadors. They’ll be doing whatever it is that that entails ahead of the event on 21 Apr.

• Frank Ocean has released a new track, a cover of ‘Moon River’.

• A New Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds live film will be shown in cinemas around the UK on 21 Apr. Tickets are on sale right this very second.

• Muse have pissed out a new single, ‘Thought Contagion’. “The meaning of the song ‘Thought Contagion’ is about how other people’s thoughts, ideas and beliefs can sometimes infect your mind, get into your head and change the way you think yourself”, says Matt Bellamy.

• Royal Blood have released a video for ‘Look Like You Know’, from last year’s How Did We Get So Dark?’ album.

• Shamir has released new track, ‘Room’, which will feature on a new double A-side seven-inch, out in March.

• Field Music have released the video for their latest single, ‘Count It Up’. The album it’s taken from, ‘Open Here’, is out RIGHT NOW.

• Simone Felice has announced that he will release a new album, ‘The Projector’, on 13 Apr. The title track is out now, featuring contributions from Bat For Lashes and Four Tet.

Yesterday, the Smashing Pumpkins announced a reunion tour. So that’s nice. The big reveal came after a countdown clock on the band’s website finally reached zero. Who could have guessed that would be their news? Well, everyone. Because for something that was supposed to be a surprise, there sure was a lot of talking about this reunion tour beforehand.

The seeds of this reunion date back to 2016, when frontman Billy Corgan said in a video on Facebook that he had been in touch with the other three original members of the band.

“We’re not rushing to something”, he said. “We have to repair some things between us, and see what’s out there for us, if those opportunities are even there”.

Earlier that year, Corgan had performed live with guitarist James Iha a few times, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has remained a collaborator since the band split (including subsequent Smashing Pumpkins line-ups put together by Corgan). So it seemed that those relationships were already well on their way to being repaired. That leaves bassist D’arcy Wretsky.

In that same video, Corgan said: “I’ve been in communication with D’arcy for the first time in sixteen or seventeen years, it’s awesome to have my friend back”.

Wretsky was the first to leave the band in 1999, shortly after the return of Chamberlain, who had been fired following the drug related death of keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin. She then dropped out of music entirely. Still, according to statements she’s made over the last couple of years, and particularly the last few weeks, she was keen to take part in any reunion.

Things started to take a turn for the angry last month though, when Wretsky told BlastEcho that she had “only just found about yesterday that the band has decided to go with a different bass player”.

Last week, she told the same website that Corgan had shut her out. She claimed that he had invited her to take part in the reunion, but then retracted the offer. The article referred to text message conversations between her and Corgan, which were later published by Alternative Nation.

The messages were clearly shared in order to show Corgan in a poor light. Although, given the lack of context, and the omission of key parts of the conversation, they can be read in different ways. It appears that Corgan was keen to have Wretsky involved, but was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to perform a full show – offering her the opportunity to come up and play a few songs (likening the deal to that of drummer Steven Adler during the Guns N Roses reunion).

With the countdown clock still running, the band broke their own embargo by issuing a statement, saying: “In reuniting The Smashing Pumpkins, the band’s dedication remains to its fans and its music. To that, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin and William Corgan haven’t played a show with D’arcy Wretzky for over eighteen years. But it’s not for a lack of trying”.

They continued: “Despite reports, Ms Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred. We wish her all the best, and look forward to reconnecting with you all very soon”.

In an interview with Alternative Nation, Wretzky claimed that since she had been in touch with Corgan, he had often told her about recording sessions or performances, but then not let her know where or when they would be. Or in some cases informed her after the event.

She added that there had been plans to record one song together as a test before the tour, but then Corgan had recorded a whole new Smashing Pumpkins album, with the involvement of Chamberlain but not Iha. She also claimed that Corgan was taking the largest share of royalties from the tour, with the other band members placed in a subordinate status. As negotiations went on, things became more fraught, she said.

“With every argument, Billy would answer me, but I felt like he wasn’t bothering to read my texts”, she recalled. “There’s nothing that you could say that I didn’t try, because I really, really, really care, and I really wanted to do this way more than they did. I really wanted to do it, and I thought we could do it right this time, but Billy just can’t do it”.

She went on: “I thought he wasn’t reading my texts, then he said, ‘Blah blah blah, I wish you well’. I was like, ‘You don’t wish me well, you don’t love me, you don’t love anybody, you don’t care about anybody’. Then he’s like, ‘Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!’ I’m like, there he is! There is the real Billy Corgan, I finally got through to you! He’s a like a dog with a bone, you just can’t get through to him”.

“Everyone said he changed since he had a kid … and he can be very charming, and fun”, she also claimed. “He’s fun to talk to; I enjoy mental sparring with him. I just was so out of that world for the longest time, I wasn’t aware of a lot of the crazy stuff, like he supports Trump. What? The shapeshifting thing, I honestly think he may have a brain tumour. He’s always been insufferable”.

So, fair to say, things aren’t amicable. The official line-up for the reunion tour now doesn’t even feature a bassist – the fourth member being guitarist Jeff Shroeder, who has performed on Corgan’s post-split Smashing Pumpkins albums and tours since 2007.

At one point in his text message conversation with Wretsky, Corgan says that the live show they have planned is “a Broadway level type show”, adding: “We have to prove to [the] world that we can compete at [the] highest level or [the] tour [will] never get out of America”.

The scale of the tour remains to be seen, as does how keen fans are on a 75% reunion of the original band.

Peace released a standalone new single last week, and you were all, like, “Huh, weird they’re not putting out a new album”. But they are. They are putting out a new album. They fooled you. Just like everyone fools you. You are an idiot.

That’s right, Peace have just announced that they will release a new album, called ‘Kindness Is The New Rock N Roll’, on 4 May. Hmm, if that title’s right, then maybe I shouldn’t have called you an idiot just now. Sorry. You’re not an idiot. You’re just very willing to take things at face value. But that’s fine. It’s endearing really. Honestly, I think it’s nice.

Anyway, this album was written in a National Trust property out in the middle of nowhere somewhere in Herefordshire. “I was a total townie”, says frontman Harry Koisser of adjusting to these surroundings. “I spent six months out in an actual forest. It was very Hobbit-ish, very Hobbit-esque. Extremely isolating and scary”.

Still, this and working with producer Simone Felice brought out a new creativity in the band, Koisser continues: “Simone doesn’t do any sounds. He gets into your soul. He’ll take you into a room and touch your heart, he’ll drive you down into the Catskill Mountains and say, ‘Smell the pines! Go and splash your face in the stream!’ Then he’ll take you back to the studio. I never ever thought I could sing like that. Simone found that. He physically massaged it out of my chest with his hands”.

So that’s cool. But with the album finished, the band now have to head back into all those bullshit cities to play their songs live to all you idiots. I mean, all you gullible but endearing fools. By which I mean they’ve announced some tour dates. Here they are:

Last week’s new single ‘Power’ will be on the album. As will ‘Under Liquid Glass’, which they released last year. And you thought both those tracks were just random standalone songs. I take it back. You’re an idiot. I despair, I really do.

Camila Cabello will be right here over in the UK in June. What for? To perform some of her songs live, that’s what. She’ll play three shows as part of her first ever solo headline tour.

Tickets are due to go on sale at 9am on Friday on Cabello’s official website. A portion of proceeds from the sale of various VIP packages will be donated to the Children’s Health Fund. The one founded by Paul Simon in the US, I think. Not Jamie Oliver’s UK one.

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/camila-cabello-announces-uk-tour-dates/feed/0NME Awards hands out prizes to people who it was decided should win themhttp://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/nme-awards-hands-out-prizes-to-people-who-it-was-decided-should-win-them/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/nme-awards-hands-out-prizes-to-people-who-it-was-decided-should-win-them/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 11:14:10 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=163851

It was the NME Awards last night. And a right old time was had by all. Everyone said that they just really enjoyed being there and that the awards given out were a mere bonus. Makes you wonder why they even bother with the actual awards at all.

“Blimey, what a night”, says NME guy Mike Williams, confirming the right old time that was had. By all. “Liam Gallagher proved he’s the ultimate Godlike Genius and inspired some amazing rock n roll moments in the room, Shirley Manson and Boy Better Know got the recognition their amazing achievements deserve, and the list of winners was like a who’s who of the most relevant and exciting artists in the world today”.

He went on: “After such a huge year for NME where once again our audience is bigger than it’s ever been in our history, it’s great to give everyone such a brilliant night to remember (hangovers notwithstanding…)”

Who were the winners though? Do you know what? I don’t know. I thought we just agreed the actual awards don’t matter. But, if you insist on having that knowledge, luckily for you, I have this list here:

Best British Band: Alt-J
Best British Solo Artist: Loyle Carner
Best International Solo Artist: Lorde
Best International Band: Haim
Best New Artist: Stefflon Don
Best Live Artist: Kasabian
Under The Radar Award: Pale Waves

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/one-liners-rita-ora-ellie-goulding-anna-von-hausswolff-more/feed/0Publishing rights in Prince’s first single for sale on eBayhttp://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/publishing-rights-in-princes-first-single-for-sale-on-ebay/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/publishing-rights-in-princes-first-single-for-sale-on-ebay/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 11:10:49 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=163847

Would you like to have written a Prince song? Well now you can have. Sort of. Well not really. But the publishing rights owned by the co-writer of his debut single, ‘Soft & Wet’, are up for sale on eBay. What would that set you back? A million dollars? Half a million? No, a bargain $490,000.

Chris Moon produced Prince’s original demo tape in 1976. Everything on the tape was done by Prince, from songwriting to playing all 27 instruments that appeared on it. All except for ‘Soft & Wet’, for which Moon contributed lyrics. Fortuitously for Moon, although Prince also took over production duties on his music after he signed to Warner, the song he co-wrote was selected as the musician’s debut single in 1978.

The single was not exactly a hit, although it reached number twelve in Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart. However, it later received a new lease of life when it was sampled by MC Hammer for the song ‘She’s Soft And Wet’ on his debut album ‘Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt Em’ in 1990.

Moon puts the entire financial value of the song at the feet of MC Hammer, rather than Prince. In his eBay listing, he writes: “Around 1990, MC Hammer came out with one of the top albums of the year featuring his hit song ‘Can’t Touch This’ and on that top selling album was my song ‘Soft & Wet’, licensed by MC Hammer to be used in a rap version of that very same song”.

He brags on: “When it came out he sold 10,000,000 copies of that album, which meant I sold 10,000,000 copies of ‘Soft & Wet’. To date that MC Hammer album has now sold over 22 million copies worldwide and each time that album sells so does a copy of ‘Soft & Wet'”.

That’s right, think about all the future sales of that MC Hammer album. That’s what makes this copyright so valuable. Sure, the song might also get included on a Prince re-issue or two, and gain a boost from renewed interest in the musician’s catalogue since his death. But that’s nothing compared to the continued success of MC Hammer.

“I have owned ‘Soft & Wet’ since I wrote it”, continues Moon. “I have enjoyed hearing the song countless times over the years, been paid well and am proud of it. I would now like to see someone else enjoy owning it. It has achieved everything and more for me so I feel it is time to pass the torch to a Prince fan who will continue to cherish and enjoy owning it as much as I have. If you love Prince and his music I cannot imagine anything better than co-owning his first hit song with him”.

Oh I see, it’s not about the money. It’s about the closeness to Prince. And, by association, a closeness to MC Hammer. What a treat! Buy it here now.

Nelly is now under investigation over an alleged sexual assault in Essex last year. Reports of the incident, following a show at Southend’s Cliffs Pavilion, first emerged in a US defamation lawsuit against the rapper last month.

Essex Police said in a statement: “We are investigating after a woman reported to us that she was sexually assaulted at an address in Westcliff on 5 Dec 2017”.

The allegations made by an unnamed woman were included, along with details of another alleged attack at a show in London, in an updated defamation lawsuit brought against the rapper by Monique Greene.

The rapper was arrested in the US last October after Greene accused him of raping her on his tour bus. The investigation was later dropped, after she refused to testify, her attorney saying that she felt “the system was going to fail her”.

After the criminal case was dropped, Nelly launched legal action against Greene, to which she launched a countersuit. Her lawsuit states that she decided not to participate in the criminal investigation after police broke her anonymity, despite promises not to, which led to a wave of attacks online.

Commenting on the new police investigation in the UK, Nelly’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told TMZ: “These allegations arose after Ms Greene amended her suit for money to include a reference to these claims. The fact that the police are investigating these claims is not new information and Nelly welcomes a thorough investigation. Nelly is confident that once investigated, these claims will be determined to be disingenuous”.

He added: “Nelly was accompanied by his girlfriend during this tour and she was at his side throughout. It is important that police investigate every allegation of this nature”.

Another accusation against Nelly detailed in Greene’s updated lawsuit is alleged to have taken place at Koko in London.

A US judge has dismissed a song-theft lawsuit pursued against Taylor Swift, although the plaintiffs have been given a chance to file amended litigation.

This is the legal battle in which songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler accused Swift of ripping off a 2001 song they wrote for 3LW called ‘Playas Gon Play’ on her 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’. In the lawsuit Hall and Butler claimed that Swift’s lyric “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate”, was a rip off of their line “The playas gon play/Them haters gonna hate”.

Swift’s team dubbed the song-theft legal claim a “money grab” and sought to have the lawsuit dismissed. Yesterday judge Michael Fitzgerald did just that, declaring that the lyrics shared by ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘Playas Gon Play’ are “banal”. Sensible judge. Though he meant too banal to enjoy copyright protection.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fitzgerald stated: “The lynchpin of this entire case is … whether or not the lyrics ‘Playas, they gonna play/And haters, they gonna hate’ are eligible for protection under the Copyright Act”. He then mused that by 2001, “American popular culture was heavily steeped in the concepts of players, haters, and player haters”.

As a result, he concluded: “The concept of actors acting in accordance with their essential nature is not at all creative; it is banal”. Therefore, “the allegedly infringed lyrics are short phrases that lack the modicum of originality and creativity required for copyright protection”.

If Hall and Butler can make a case for ‘Shake It Off’ nabbing more from ‘Playas Gon Play’ that merely some players and some haters, they are welcome to submit new legal papers, Fitzgerald added. Though “the court is extremely skeptical that Plaintiffs will – in a manner consistent with Rule 11 – be able to rehabilitate their copyright infringement claim in an amended complaint”. But they can try, he said.

The Featured Artists Coalition and CMU:DIY will next month present the first ever Artist:Entrepreneur Day, as part of the City Roots festival in Cambridge on Thursday 1 Mar.

This new event aimed at aspiring artists and future industry talent will see three artist entrepreneurs open up their respective artist businesses and discuss their decisions and experiences to date. The artist entrepreneurs leading this first edition are Roxanne de Bastion, ShaoDow and Eckoes.

Each artist entrepreneur will discuss how they manage and monetise their music rights, their experiences gigging and touring, how they developed their brand and identity, and which channels are most effective for engaging fans. They will also discuss how they chose the business partners they currently work with, and what role each partner plays.

Joining the artist entrepreneurs will be ten music industry experts who will offer practical advice on the business side of music, and explain how they support the artists they work with. Alongside that, CMU:DIY will present five new A:E Guides helping attendees understand music revenues, music rights and the music business.

The Artist:Entrepreneur Day is a new educational initiative – piloted by FAC and CMU:DIY last year – with a unique artist-to-artist approach. After the launch at City Roots in Cambridge, it will tour to other UK towns and cities in partnership with other festivals and venues around the country.

FAC’s Lucie Caswell says: “The FAC recognises that artists are the primary value creators in the music business, and that a community of artist businesses sits at the heart of the music industry. Each artist business is a multi-faceted enterprise, and a key role of the FAC is to help the artist entrepreneurs that make up our membership develop and grow their individual businesses”.

She goes on: “We believe that a crucial part of that is encouraging existing artist entrepreneurs to share their experiences, and to talk through the approaches they have taken and the business partners they have worked with. That’s what the Artist:Entrepreneur Day is all about, backed up by our colleagues and collaborators from across the music industry, and our co-hosts CMU:DIY”.

Legendary soul singer Mavis Staples has released a video for the title track of her 2017 album ‘If All I Was Was Black’, to mark Black History Month.

The video’s director Zac Manuel says: “In 2017 I watched as all the Confederate monuments came down in New Orleans, but the conversation never arose as to what would replace them”.

“This video imagines a reality where we venerate people who are truly deserving of being immortalised in public spaces”, he continues. “A reality in which black people can be proud to see themselves on pedestals in the air, cast in iron and stone. The intent of this video is to highlight black excellence, and to provoke and encourage a larger public appreciation of the labour – physical and emotional – the people of colour often are expected to bear”.

Staples is set to play two nights at London Union Chapel on 9-10 Jul. Watch the video for ‘If All I Was Was Black’ here:

Metallica have been announced as one of the two winners of this year’s Polar Music Prize. They will receive the award in June, alongside the Afghanistan National Institute Of Music.

“Receiving the Polar Music Prize is an incredible thing”, says Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. “It puts us in very distinguished company. It’s a great validation of everything that Metallica has done over the last 35 years. At the same time, we feel like we’re in our prime with a lot of good years ahead of us”.

ANIM founder Ahmad Sarmast adds: “I’m very excited, honoured and privileged to be a recipient of the 2018 Polar Music Prize alongside The Afghanistan National Institute of Music”.

The Afghanistan National Institute Of Music was founded in 2010, in response to the loss of traditional music in Afghanistan due to the political situation in the country. Between 1996 and 2001, music had been completely banned there.

Presented by King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, each Polar Music Prize winner receives one million Swedish kronor (approximately £90,000).

Commenting on this year’s recipients, Marie Ledin, MD of the Polar Music Prize, says: “We believe that our two recipients, although from very contrasting worlds, exemplify the mission of the Polar Music Prize, and that is to honour musicians and music organisations whose work has made a difference to people’s lives”.

She goes on: “Metallica are loved and admired by millions of hard rock fans across the globe. They have led where other bands have followed and their 2017 world tour broke all records. Dr Ahmad Sarmast founded the Afghanistan National Institute Of Music to restore the joy and power of music to children’s lives. ANIM’s work with young people and disadvantaged children is truly inspirational”.

The ceremony will take place at Stockholm’s Grand Hôtel on 14 Jun. Previous winners include Paul McCartney, Elton John, Björk, and Evelyn Glennie.

• Tinashe has released another new single, ‘Faded Love’, featuring Future.

• Rina Sawayama has released a new track for Valentine’s Day, which I’m told is today. Here’s ‘Valentine (What It’s Gonna Be)’.

• Benga has released new track ‘Psychosis’. “It was all part of the process leading to acceptance and moving forward”, he told DJ Mag. “I had just finished writing about everything that happened leading up to my sectioning. So when I wrote ‘Psychosis’, this is what came out, it was organic and it captured everything I was about”.

• Melvins will return with a new album, ‘Pinkus Abortion Technician’, on 20 Apr. It’ll feature Jeff Pinkus on bass, in addition to Steven McDonald. “We’ve never had two bass players”, says frontman Buzz Osborne. “We’ve had two drummers and two guitar players so it makes total sense to now have two bass players”.

• Lone has released new track, ‘Hyper Seconds’, taken from his upcoming ‘Ambivert Tools Volume Three’ EP.

• Worriedaboutsatan have returned with a new release, ‘Shift’.

• Indoor Pets have released a video for their new single, ‘So Soon’. They kick off a UK tour tomorrow.

• The Crazy Frog’s version of ‘Axel F’ now has more than a billion plays on YouTube, you idiots.

We’re still a day away from the official announcement that the Smashing Pumpkins are reuniting and it’s already drifted ever further into farce. Former bassist D’arcy Wretsky has now given her first full-on proper interview in 20 years to dispute claims made earlier this week in a statement from the band.

As her former bandmates Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlain prepare to announce new music and tour dates, Wretsky initially issued a statement via text message to the BlastEcho website. She claimed that she had been blocked from re-joining the band, going so far as to say that she’d been offered a contract by Corgan that was then retracted.

The band responded with a statement saying that they “haven’t played a show with D’arcy Wretzky for over eighteen years. But it’s not for a lack of trying”.

They went on: “Despite reports, Ms Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred”.

This, says Wretsky, is nonsense. “[Billy] has been telling people, ‘Well [The Smashing Pumpkins] haven’t played with [D’arcy] at all in eighteen years’. Right dumbass, because then it wouldn’t be a reunion”, she tells Alternative Nation. “He says that he’s invited me to come out and play for all of these things, which is a complete lie. He’s never invited me to anything”.

She adds that after Iha appeared on stage with Corgan in 2016, and then contributed to his latest solo album ‘Ogilala’, she approached Corgan about performing together during the tour for that record.

“He did the solo album tour, and he didn’t tell me when it started”, she says. “I was texting him saying, ‘Where the fuck are you dumbass?’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I’m in New York. The tour started’. Then I’m like, ‘Where are you?’ ‘Oh, the tour ended, you missed it’. He thinks it’s a privilege for anyone to be in his presence, so therefore he shouldn’t have to tell me, and I shouldn’t have to be invited”.

When it comes to the upcoming reunion, she says that the deal she was offered was to be a guest at certain shows, rather than joining for a full tour. “That was apparently the plan all along”, she says.

As for her personal opinion of Corgan, she says: “Everyone said he changed since he had a kid, and he can be very charming, and fun. He’s fun to talk to; I enjoy mental sparring with him. I just was so out of that world for the longest time, I wasn’t aware of a lot of the crazy stuff, like he supports Trump. What? The shapeshifting thing? I honestly think he may have a brain tumour. He’s always been insufferable”.

Enrique Iglesias has signed a new publishing deal with Kobalt, covering his songs catalogue to date and future work.

“Enrique is one of the biggest global artists ever, so it is an honour that he has chosen Kobalt to support him in both creative and global admin services”, says Kobalt CEO Willard Ahdritz. “He is an amazing singer, songwriter and producer with an extraordinary capacity to write in Spanish and English. The potential for his new music is massive and we’re excited to support him”.

Meanwhile Kobalt’s President of Latin America, Nestor Casonu adds: “It is a privilege to work with Enrique, a great human being and extraordinary artist whom I admire. Since the start of his career, he has consistently topped charts all over the world due to his great capacity to work, engage with his fans, as well as the respect and care he gives to the creative process of his songs”.

Mark E Smith died from inoperable cancer, his family have revealed in a new statement. The Fall frontman died last month, aged 60.

“Mark fought a long and hard battle after his diagnosis of terminal lung and kidney cancer”, say Smith’s three sisters – Barbara, Suzanne and Caroline – in a statement published on The Fall’s website. “He took every treatment going, which could be brutal at times and left Mark with some horrible side effects. Mark was such a strong man and hated letting his fans down and tried to carry on regardless against all advice”.

They continue: “Mark had a great life and loved and lived it to the full and always by his own rules and we, as his sisters, were privileged to be part of it too. Mark is at peace now and pain free, but we, his three sisters have been left heartbroken and will miss our big brother very much”.

Smith was known to be struggling with health problems over the last year, which led to the cancellation of various tour dates.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield is to make his acting debut, playing a police officer in a new biopic about serial killer Ted Bundy called ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, And Vile’.

Joe Berlinger – who made Metallica documentary ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ – is directing the film. Starring Zac Efron as Bundy, Hetfield will play Bob Hayward, the Utah highway patrol officer who was the first policeman to arrest the killer in 1975.

“Having spent hundreds of hours behind the scenes with James and the rest of Metallica, I have experienced his charisma and powerful presence close up”, says Berlinger. “It seemed only natural that he would bring that same power and magnetism to a dramatic role, so when he agreed to my pitch that he be in the movie, I was THRILLED”.

Currently filming, the movie also stars Haley Joel Osment and John Malkovich, with British actor Lily Collins playing Bundy’s girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.

Have we mentioned that the Smashing Pumpkins are reforming? I can’t remember, but it’s a key fact in this story, so consider yourself told. It’s not just Billy Corgan and some random people this time, either. It’s the classic line-up. Well, most of it. Ahead of an official announcement later this week, there’s been some bickering.

Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain have all already been working together again, seemingly on a new album. Details are sparse, aside from some hints on Corgan’s Instagram account and a countdown timer on the band’s official website, which will run down to zero on Thursday. Oh, and the angry war of words with the band’s former bassist D’arcy Wretsky.

Wretsky told BlastEcho last month that she would not be involved in the reunion, claiming in a new interview last week that Corgan had originally invited her to take part and sent her a contract. However, she says, he subsequently rescinded the offer. She also claimed that Iha’s involvement in the new music that’s being recorded by the band was limited.

In a statement responding to this (and thus confirming the reunion before the official announcement of the reunion), the band said that Wretsky hadn’t been blocked from joining. Rather, they said, she has been unwilling.

“In reuniting The Smashing Pumpkins, the band’s dedication remains to its fans and its music”, says the outfit as one. “To that, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin and William Corgan haven’t played a show with D’arcy Wretzky for over eighteen years. But it’s not for a lack of trying”.

They continue: “Despite reports, Ms Wretzky has repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face, and in each and every instance she always deferred. We wish her all the best, and look forward to reconnecting with you all very soon”.

Chamberlain was fired from the band in 1996, following the drug-related death of live keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin. He re-joined in 1999, although Wretsky then left the band shortly afterwards. Iha then followed in 2000, and the band officially split at the end of that year.

Corgan continued to work with Chamberlain on various projects, and in 2006 the pair revived Smashing Pumpkins without their other former bandmates. Since then, Corgan has been by various musicians, the only consistent other member being guitarist Jeff Shroeder, who joined in 2007, and is reportedly involved in the latest incarnation too.

Ultimate Painting have announced that they have split up, cancelling the release of new album ‘Up!’ at the same time.

In a statement on Facebook, the duo’s Jack Cooper blames “an irreconcilable breakdown” of his relationship with bandmate James Hoare.

“I’m very sad to announce that Ultimate Painting are no longer a band. Anyone who has worked with us knows that the partnership at the core of this band has always been a very fragile thing, but due to an irreconcilable breakdown we will no longer be working with each other”.

The band were set to release their new album on 6 Apr, which would have been their first for Bella Union. They had already released a single, ‘Not Gonna Burn Myself Anymore’, and announced UK and Ireland tour dates for April.

The statement continues: “Obviously if there’s no band, then it’s understandably not really in Bella Union’s interests to put out the previously announced album, therefore I’ve asked them not to release ‘Up!’ at this point in time, which they have agreed to”.

Cooper recently completed a tour in support of his debut solo album, ‘Sandgrown’. Speaking about that record recently, he said: “Recording on my own liberated me to sing more like I actually sing. I think I’ve spent a long time in loud bands singing in a way that can be heard through music. The songs that I wrote for ‘Sandgrown’ suit my voice more than anything I’ve done before”.

Hoare also fronts The Proper Ornaments, who released their last album, ‘Foxhole’, in January 2017. Prior to forming Ultimate Painting in 2014, Hoare was a member of Victoria Falls, while Cooper fronted Mazes.

Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton is stepping back from the band’s touring activities due to the progression of the Parkinson’s disease he was diagnosed with a decade ago.

Tipton has continued to perform with the band since then, but according to a statement on the band’s website is now finding it harder to perform the band’s more complex songs live on stage. As a result, he’s decided to retire from touring full time.

“I want everyone to know that it’s vital that the Judas Priest tour goes ahead and that I am not leaving the band – it’s simply that my role has changed”, says Tipton. “I don’t rule out the chance to go on stage as and when I feel able to blast out some Priest! So at some point in the not too distant future I’m really looking forward to seeing all of our wonderful metal maniacs once again”.

The band will tour to promote their new album, ‘Firepower’, as planned, with the record’s producer Andy Sneap standing in on guitar.

Tipton’s bandmates say: “We have been privileged to witness Glenn’s determination and steadfast commitment over the years, showing his passion and self belief through the writing, recording and performing sessions with Priest – he is a true metal hero! We are not surprised by Glenn’s insistence that we complete the ‘Firepower’ tour and thank Andy for joining us to make Glenn’s wishes become real. As Glenn has said, we also can’t wait to have him with us at any time any place on the road”.

• Marshmello has released the video for ‘Spotlight’, his collaboration with Lil Peep, completed shortly before the rapper’s death.

• Rolo Tomassi have released ‘Aftermath’, the latest track from their upcoming new album, ‘Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It’.

• Factory Floor have released new single ‘Heart Of Data’, taken from their Science Museum-commissioned new soundtrack to Fritz Lang’s 1927 film ‘Metropolis’.

• Kero Kero Bonito have released new single ‘Only Acting’, it’s true.

• Iceage have released new single ‘Catch It’. The band will play The Scala in London on 8 May.

• Will Haven have released the first single from their upcoming new album, ‘Muerte’. Titled ‘El Sol’, it features guitar from Deftones’ Steph Carpenter.

• The Body have announced that they will release new album, ‘I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer’, on 11 May. From it, this is brilliant new single ‘Nothing Stirs’, featuring Kristin Haytor. They’ll play a London show with Lightning Bolt at The Garage on 5 May.

• Moaning have released the video for new single ‘Tired’. Their debut album is out on 2 Mar.

• Praa is doing it all again with new single, ‘Do It All Again’.

• Scandal have released the video for new single, ‘Platform Syndrome’. The song is the opening track of the band’s new album, ‘Honey’, which is out this week.

• Jorja Smith has announce UK tour dates for October, which will wind up at Brixton Academy on 17 Oct. Tickets go on sale this Friday.